


Affection and Affliction

by Cretehype



Category: SCP - Containment Breach
Genre: 035 is a flirt, 049 is an ass sometimes, Eventual Smut, F/M, Female Reader, Mild Gore, Mild Language, Minor Character Death, Psychologists & Psychiatrists, Reader is a bit of a mutant, Slow Burn, Sorry Not Sorry, kind of, you'll see why - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:01:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24545044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cretehype/pseuds/Cretehype
Summary: You're one of the SCP Foundation's top psychologists, and when a new "Integration" program is introduced for Euclids and a select few Keters, your usually boring and mundane job gets a lot more interesting. It was supposed to be professional; you go in, interview the SCP for a couple of months, and evaluate them on whether or not they're fit to work alongside the foundation, or in extreme cases, re-enter society. However, your first case, a Euclid by the designation of SCP-049, proves to be a bit of a challenge; his piercing eyes and silky smooth voice aren't the only things distracting you.
Relationships: SCP-035 (SCP Foundation)/Reader, SCP-049 (SCP Foundation)/Reader
Comments: 51
Kudos: 245





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! Welcome to my first work EVER! I hope you all enjoy; and don't forget to leave constructive criticism in the comments, or even ideas for future chapters. I'll be sure to take each idea into consideration, and I might even apply them (with credit of course).

Your foot tapped against the spotless white tile in your office, the sound resonating through the empty room. Your hand rested against your bouncing leg, eyes glancing around the room nervously. It wasn’t your first time doing an evaluation on a SCP; but before now you had only dealt with Keter classes. This was your first Euclid case, and to say you were nervous was an understatement. The foundation trusted you not to fuck this up, and quite frankly you couldn’t afford to. They were generous in offering you this job after being a D-Class and surviving for 30 days, but what other choice did you have? It had been a while since you had seen the outside world; the thought of suddenly reappearing in society and having no place to stay, no place to work, no family of any kind… it didn’t appeal to you much. This was your ray of sunlight, your saving grace after years of wrongdoings. You were changing your life around. 

Your thoughts were interrupted by a curt knock on the door. You stood abruptly, the chair you had been sitting in for an hour protesting with a loud screech against the cold tile. A heavily armed guard stood in front of the door, and a few seconds of silence passed before he spoke.

“Come with me doctor (L/N). Your personal hell awaits.”

Your shoulders relaxed, but only by a fraction. You recognized that voice; it was your friend Dalton; well, friend was a strong word to use in this line of work, but he had been kind to your when you were a lowly D-Class and things hadn’t changed even after you moved up through the ranks. It bothered you that he referred to you as a doctor; you didn’t have a PHD in anything, but you had been going to school for psychology before in incident.

“Good to see you too Dalton. And for your information, every day here is like a personal hell.” Your legs carried you stiffly towards the door, and the two of you moved in perfect sync once out in the hallway. He made a noise that could only be described as a cross between a scoff and a snort.

“You’re tellin me. You read that file they gave you on this one?” You hummed in response. Yes, you had read the file the scientists gave you on SCP-049, thoroughly might you add. Apparently he was some sort of medieval plague doctor, which was pretty badass in your opinion. This will be your first time meeting him, and you hoped for you sake, he didn’t sense the Pestilence in you, whatever that may be. 

“To be honest, I’m nervous. I’ve never dealt with a Euclid before. Can you tell me what he’s like? I know you’re one of his regular guards.” Dalton chuckled before he stopped at the door to 049’s cell. You hadn’t even realized how log you two had been walking. “Guess you’ll have to find out for yourself.”

The door slid open, and you hesitantly stepped inside his cell. Dalton wished you good luck, and thus the door was closed. You turned around and were met with three scientists, only two of which you recognized. The one you didn’t recognize looked up from his clipboard and gave you a bored stare, whereas the other two, Dr. Palo and Dr. Graham, gave you a brief greeting. Dr. Palo spoke first;

“Dr. (L/N), this is Dr. Gears; he’s a former Euclid-class specialist, and will be helping you with your research on SCP-049.” 

“Pleasure to meet you sir.” You went for a handshake (you know, like any normal human being), and he studied your outstretched hand like some sort of science project before returning it with a vice grip. His vacant stare sent chills up your spine, and you barely managed to suppress a shiver when you both dropped your hands.

“Well then. I suppose we should send him in since everything’s in order?” Dr. Graham asked, before grabbing his walkie-talkie and telling the guards on the other side to bring the SCP into his cell.

Two guards emerged from the door, along with SCP-049, and to say the guards were dwarfed in comparison to his stature was an understatement. You knew almost everything about the SCP from his file alone, but you had no clue as to what a 6’2” person looked like before now. The only thing that could stop him from overpowering the guards was a large metal ring around his neck that the guards were holding with what looked like metal rods, and the fact that his hands were also cuffed. Everything about him was intimidating; his height, his dark garments, even the elegant silver plague mask that seemed to be apart of his face. You hadn’t realized you were staring until Dr. Palo coughed, and handed you a clipboard and a pen. Right, you had forgotten yours in the office. Swallowing thickly, you gave a sheepish smile to the scientists before stepping forward to enter the room.

The doors slid open with a hiss, and you stepped into the room with what little confidence you could muster, taking a seat at the metal table across from him. The guards had taken off the metal ring around his neck, but the cuffs remained, and you noted that the guards were stationed against the wall in the corners of the room. You cleared your throat. You suddenly noted that his eyes were very distracting; and trained directly on you.

“Hello SCP-049, my name is Dr. (L/N), and I’m what you would call, your PR. Do you know what that is?” You said, and smiled gently at him. He perked up at the mention of your title.

“Ah, a fellow doctor. And what, pray tell, might your field of study be in?” Well, you didn’t expect such a smooth, silky voice to come out of him. But aside from that, he completely dodged your question.

“W-well, I’m a psychologist; it’s more of a social science compared to others, but a science nonetheless.” He seemed to deflate a little at that, but still kept an interested posture out of politeness. You continued, “As a psychologist working for the foundation, it is my duty to give evaluations on not only the members of the foundation, but to SCP’s like yourself as well. Are you aware of the Reintegration Program the foundation offers?” 

“I don’t believe I am familiar, good doctor. However, let it be known that I am in no need of a psychological evaluation. Things like that take time, and we are all running out of time, good doctor.” He pauses, fixing me with an intense stare that makes me want to sink into the floor and disappear. “The Pestilence is still out there. There are many more that need to be cured, many more souls in need of my help.” 

You suddenly feel as if he’s implying something, like you have the Pestilence, and a trickle of fear seeps into your mind. You quickly calm yourself, and instead give him a small smile, which confuses him greatly judging by how he sits back suddenly as if burned. “I know you don’t need a psychological evaluation, and I know there is work to be done; but tell me, how do you intend to work on curing the infected from inside a cell? We’re giving you a choice here; it’s limited freedom but freedom nonetheless, compared to imprisonment for God knows how long.” He regards your statement for a few seconds.

“…And what exactly does this ‘Reintegration Program’ entail?” He asks wearily, his eyes never leaving yours. “Well, like I said, I’ll be doing regular evaluations on you, maybe thrice a week for now. We’ll run a few tests as the weeks progress, and by the end of the third month, you’ll have a final evaluation that determines whether you’re in the right mindset to come out of containment, and ultimately, work alongside the foundation,” You conclude with a small smile. He sighed lightly, and you could almost imagine his lips being pursed in annoyance. 

“…I suppose we have a deal, doctor.” Your smile grew, and you began shuffling the papers you had spread out for him in neat stacks, grabbing your clipboard and pen as well. You stood, and turned fully to him. “I suppose we do. Have a good evening doctor, I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow? Why so soon?” he asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. “I’d like to begin the process as quickly as possible; I assume this won’t be a problem considering that means you won’t have to wait for freedom for long,” I replied casually. He simply nodded, and with that I turned on my heel, heading towards the door I had just come from. Once I entered the observation room, I was greeted with smiles from Dr. Palo and Graham. “That went easier than expected. He’s usually cooperative, but when it comes to anything that doesn’t involve us offering ‘patients’, he gets rather snippy.” Dr. Palo said, giving me a clap on the back that nearly sent me stumbling forward. I smiled meekly, “Really? Well I’m glad I could help.” Dr. Gears hummed in agreement; I hadn’t noticed he was still here honestly, with how quiet he had been. “I look forward to your performance.” He said in that robotic voice, before taking his leave. Truth be told, that guy gives me seriously off vibes, and I didn’t necessarily look forward to working with him.

When I went out into the hallway, Dalton was there to escort me back to my lab. “So you’re my personal entourage now, are you?” I joked, but we both knew that it was necessary; there had been too many containment breaches recently, and now at least one guard had to escort a scientist at all times. He scoffed, “You wish. So, how’d it go?” I sighed, beginning our walk back to my office. I knew I could be honest with Dalton, so I told him how I truly thought it went. “He’s one tall, scary, motherfucker. I mean, he’s polite enough, but he seemed really reluctant to work with me. It all worked out though; I’ll be seeing him tomorrow at 9 for the first interview.” 

“I don’t want to scare you or anything, but he can be pretty unpredictable. I’d watch what you say, especially when it comes to ‘The Great Pestilence’ or whatever.” I hummed in agreement. “Yeah, I read his file. I’ll be careful, I promise. You worry too much,” I laughed a bit as we reached the door to my office. His eyes were still fixated on my face, and he walked directly into the wall next to my office door, making my laugh even harder. It was quite the sight; a grown ass man at least 6 foot and covered in black armor of sorts, not paying attention to his surroundings and face planting into a wall. He quickly righted himself and took a couple steps back, mumbling a quick “Have a good night Y/N” before scurrying off back to his original post. I simply shook my head, and walked into my small office, glancing at the clock. To my dismay, I still had three hours left of my shift; that would probably include stacks of paperwork I had to organize, most of which were lengthy client files. I sighed deeply, pulling up my chair and began typing on my computer. It was going to be a long night; but I kind of looked forward to tomorrow morning.


	2. Color Me Unexpected

The next morning came faster than anticipated, and needless to say, you weren’t entirely prepared for what was to come. You knew two things going into this; one, that SCP-049 wasn’t entirely on board with the idea (which meant you might have to get a little creative with your questioning), and two, you hadn’t prepared any materials ahead of time. You had to work overtime last night, ending your shift at 2 in the morning, and it took 45 minutes to drive home. By the time you arrived at your house, you were spent, and collapsed in the bed without changing your clothes, and without giving a second thought to your interview in the morning. So now here you were, 9 o’clock on the dot, standing in front of SCP-049’s cell with a clipboard, pen, and a few loose documents and scrap paper. You closed your eyes briefly to calm your nerves, knowing that on this particular day there would be no guards or scientists monitoring your interview; hopefully this wouldn’t happen again, but all the staff were overworked, and you were a trusted member of the foundation. I suppose they figured you could take care of yourself.

You swiped your key card across the pad, and the door to the observation room opened. 049 was sitting in his cell on the poor excuse of a bed that they had given him, reading what seemed to be a personal diary. He looked up at the sound of you opening the door to his cell, and closed the tattered book, placing it carefully next to his on the bed before giving you a nod of greeting.

“Doctor. I see you came back, as promised.” He said, tilting his head to the side curiously. You honestly found it charming, even a little cute; it reminded you of a puppy. You quickly shook those thoughts from your head, instead stepping fully into the cell.

“Of course. I always come through on my promises,” you replied with a small smile, grabbing a chair that was in the corner of the room and bringing it over to sit only a few feet away from him. You grabbed your clipboard and clicked your pen, before sighing, and you began to explain to him what exactly you two would be doing.

“Alright 049, I’ll be asking you some questions, and you’ll answer them honestly, please. Take your time as you answer them, and don’t be afraid to say if the question makes you uncomfortable.” He nodded, and you took that as your cue to begin the questioning.

“Have you ever been in counseling or psychotherapy? If so, when and where,” you looked up at him expectantly. He let out a soft laugh, and you scrunched your eyebrows in confusion; although, it was hard to be upset when his laugh sounded so angelic. “No dear doctor; I believe this is my first experience with any of the sort.” He replied, and you scribbled down his answer onto your blank paper. You ran through a couple of questions in your head, trying to remember the countless times you had done evaluations in the D-Classes. Most of them were things like ‘Are you currently on any medications for a mental disorder’ or ‘Have you ever been hospitalized for mental problems’, however those couldn’t really be applied to this situation. You didn’t know much about him or his past, but you knew most of the questions you asked patients would be a ‘no’ or non-applicable for him.

Apparently you had taken too long in asking the next question, because 049 decided to jump in. “May I ask you a question, doctor?” You tilted your head to the side, considering his question for a little. This was a ‘I’ll be asking the questions here’ type of interview, so you decided to play along. “Go ahead 049.” “What made you decide to join the foundation as a psychologist?” He asked, and you honestly wasn’t expecting him to be so forward. Your past was common knowledge at the foundation, but it made sense that none of the SCPs knew of it. You sighed a little, as it wasn’t the most positive experience you had, but decided to tell him anyways.

“Well, I started out as a D-Class. I was wrongly convicted of a murder, they threw me in prison, and the next thing I know, my death sentence is cancelled and I’m in the hands of the SCP Foundation. The first test they ran on me was with SCP-035; I ended up psychoanalyzing him instead,” you paused to laugh a bit, remembering how furious he had been once they had brought in another D-Class so you could talk to him. “So you’re immune to his powers?” 049 asked curiously, and you nodded in response. “After that, they continued to run tests on me with 035 to see how we interacted; but there was hardly any new data to collect other than the fact that I might be some sort of mutant, and that he’s quite the flirt. After a month of running tests with different SCPs, they came to the conclusion that I could be very useful as one of their psychologists. It’s what I was studying in college, after all. Now I’m one of, if not the top, psychologist in the foundation; not to brag or anything,” you concluded. He chuckled, “No, you’re quite humble for your status. Tell me though, you said you psychoanalyzed 035; I wonder what that’s like. Care to try with me?” He seemed very interested in what you had to say, and so far it had been about 15 minutes with little progress on the actual interview.

“To be honest, it was fairly easy with 035; he’s an open book, filled with emotions, and I took him by surprise. You however… you’re kind of an enigma. At first glance, you look stoic, professional, not to say that you aren’t. However, in these past minutes, your body language has changed to be more relaxed compared to when I first came in; your hands are folded in your lap, your shoulders aren’t as tense, and your leaning forward, a sign that you’re interested in what I have to say. You tilt your head when you’re curious, your fingers twitch when you’re nervous or angry… your eyes are very expressive as well. They are the windows to the soul, after all. You as a person might not be very expressive, but your body gives you away.” You honestly wanted to say more about what you suspected his past to be like based on your basic analysis, but you wanted him to like you.

He hummed in surprise, tilting his head once again. “Impressive that you’ve noticed this much, as we’ve only met twice. I can see why you’re valuable to the foundation.” You blushed a bit at his praise, opening your mouth for a smart comment, when suddenly the lights flickered. You closed your mouth and looked up at the ceiling in confusion, about to comment as they continued to flicker dangerously, before going out all at once. You shrieked at the sudden darkness that seemed to swallow you whole in an instant, standing up to try and feel for an emergency light switch. Apparently 049 had stood up as well, because after taking a step, you collided with a tall and solid mass of fabric, before feeling a pair of gloved hands steady you at your elbows. That made you panic even further, for fear that you’d be dead in seconds from his deadly touch, so you shut your eyes tightly. 

“…Are you alright?” He spoke after a few seconds, still gripping your elbows lightly, and you opened your eyes, surprised that you weren’t dead yet. “Y-yeah… I’m ok, thank you.” You said shakily, glancing around the room to see if your could see any trace of light. You became increasingly aware of just how close you and 049 were, and your flushed cheeks only got hotter by the second. There was a sliver of light coming from underneath the door way, so you took that as an excuse to pull away and make your way towards the light source. You were halfway there when dim red lights suddenly came on in the corners of the cell, spinning and illuminating the small space, followed by the blaring of the warning sirens. Your heart sank, and a cold white fear washed over you; you knew even before the intercoms kicked in that there was an active containment breach going on.

The door to 049’s cell automatically opened; you were worried for a second that you’d be stuck in here until someone happened to stumble upon the cell, which could’ve taken ages (or until the breach was contained). “Ah, 035, what a pleasant surprise.” 049 spoke besides you, making you jump. It was then that you noticed a figure about 5”11’ standing in the doorway, key card in hand, and a white porcelain mask with black goo dripping from the eyes. 035 rushed forward, and you could barely let out a gasp of surprise as the host 035 had acquired enveloped you in a bone crushing hug. “Y/N!!! I’m so happy to se you! You haven’t visited me in so long, where ya been girly?” You spluttered in surprise, barely managing to get the words “too tight” out. This host wasn’t malnourished in the slightest like the other ones, built like a brick, and you could feel your back crack as he gave a final squeeze before letting you go and placing his hands on his hips. You straightened your hair out and fixed your lab coat before replying. “I’m sorry, I’ve been busy. I’m not a D-Class anymore, as you can see. I’m working as a psychologist now.” You replied, smiling a bit. 035 was such a social butterfly, you found it hard to find him half as annoying as the other scientists said he was. “Ohhh~ so that came full circle huh? Congrats Y/N, I’m proud of my bestie!” 049 coughed, and you noted that he was standing awkwardly by your side, observing the whole interaction with an incredulous look. 035 turned his attention to 049, huffing. “Sorry, didn’t see ya there, scarecrow. Hello to you too I guess.” “Hello indeed.” There was a long, uncomfortable pause before a question surfaced in your head. “035… how did you get here? Why are you here?” He chuckled nervously (to anyone else it would’ve sounded deranged, but you knew him well enough to see that he was hiding something), before the three of you heard the sound of heavy footsteps quickly approaching, and 035 closed the door, and waited as they passed. “Whew, that was a close one am I right??” he chuckled nervously again, before noticing the stern look you were giving him. “Okaaay, maybe I… ‘accidentally’ started a breach… but I heard you were hangin out with scarecrow over here, so I took that as my opportunity to come see you! Aren’t you happy to see me??” You sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of your nose in slight annoyance. “You know you could’ve just requested me if you wanted to see me, right?” “I know, but I wanted to make sure birdboy didn’t do anything weird~” 

“I! You! How dare,” 049 started, but cut himself off and huffed in annoyance. “You’re the one flinging yourself onto Y/N with no regard for her personal space.” You couldn’t help but smirk at how 049 was acting; it was honestly adorable that he was flustered. However, it might be better to get between them before they kill each other over you. “035, you’re right, I am happy to see you,” you said smiling sweetly, and instantly his frown turned into a wide giddy smile. “But wouldn’t you be happier seeing my alone? I don’t know, in your cell or something.” “Ohhh~ what are you implying you cheeky fox~?” You face palmed, dragging your hand down your flushed face. “Go back to your cell before they taze you, dumbass.” He cackled manically at your quip, before putting his hands up. “Ok ok, you win. I’ll catch ya later hun~” he said before opening the door and waltzing out like he owned the place. The door shut, and a few second later you heard a “freeze!” come from outside, followed by a strangled cry and the sound of crackling electricity, before a loud thud and what sounded like a body being dragged away.

You turn back to 049, who is glancing away almost shyly, and he cleared his throat. “Perhaps we’ll continue the interview tomorrow. You should go and make sure your fellow doctors are alright.” He sounded a little disappointed, and so were you honestly; it had been fun talking to him. But he was right, you wanted to make sure everyone was ok, and if nothing else at least get back to the safety of your office, since the halls were swarming with guards you didn’t see the problem. “Alright. I’ll see you again tomorrow; have a good evening, 049.” He nodded, and you took your leave, going out into the halls and closing the door behind you.

Back in his cell, 049 thought back to when the lights had gone out; he actually touched you. He touched you, and you didn’t die in his arms. “There’s something special about that one…” He said aloud. He sat down on his bed and began scribbling notes in his journal about his new findings. He thought back to what you had said, how the foundation thinks you’re a ‘mutant’, and he concluded that indeed you had an immunity to his and 035’s powers. How interesting… he wanted to find out why, although it seemed you were just as clueless as he was. He tried to get the image of you and 035 hugging out of his mind; it made him unreasonably mad now that he thought about it; he wanted to hug you as well. It had been so long since he’s had a hug, or any physical interaction. “No… it’s too soon. We’ve only just met.” No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get you out of his mind.


	3. Can You Feel That?

A/N: I’ve been posting a lot recently because I’m just so excited for how this story is gonna play out! I’ll try to keep a consistent schedule, it’ll be twice a week that I post; Tuesday and Friday sounds like a good idea to me. I’ll also try to look more closely at my chapters, as I’ve noticed there are a few spelling errors in the two I’ve made so far. That’s all I guess, so enjoy! (Also, I’m thinking of changing the tags to make it SCP-035/Reader as well, since he’s going to be in this a lot; but don’t worry, it’s still an 049 x reader).

When you walked into the facility the next day, you were approached by Dr. Palo and Dr. Graham; both with nervous looks, making your eyebrows scrunch in confusion and your once purposeful steps slow to a stop. “Good morning Dr. Palo, Dr. Graham. What’s the matter?” You looked between the two of them with a frown before Palo spoke. “It’s about SCP-035,” he began and immediately you scoffed, rolling your eyes, because you already knew what this was about. Still, you nodded for him to continue; you couldn’t let on that you had talked to him yesterday while they were trying to contain him, and didn’t say anything. He looked at you suspiciously for a moment before continuing. “…He requested you come interview him today in Dr. Yaro’s stead.” You knew of Dr. Yaro, every once in awhile you two would cross paths. You two rarely spoke; sometimes you felt as though she didn’t like you, whether it be for your status or you as a person, you’d never know. She was polite though, and that was enough for you. ‘I wonder how she’ll feel if I accept; she’s the one that usually interviews 035,’ you thought to yourself. 

You quickly shook your head, sighing through your nose. “Well, tell him I’m busy. I have a meeting with SCP-049, and I’ll be late if I see 035 now. I’m probably becoming increasingly late as we speak,” you stated a little impatiently. 035 knew better than to get in the way of your professionalism for the sake of a play date. “Y/N, you know we can’t do that. As much as we’d all love to get under 035’s skin, he’s a loose cannon. Did you know he caused yesterday’s containment breach single-handedly? We can’t have that again,” Dr. Graham exclaimed. You pursed your lips, placing your hands on your hips and looking at the floor. “Fine,” you said, looking back up at your colleagues, “But we can’t keep letting him walk all over us. He already thinks he owns the damn place.” With that, you practically stormed past Palo and Graham; it was only 9 in the morning and your day was already off to a bad start. You didn’t bother grabbing a nearby guard to escort you; you were beyond peeved to even care.

A few minutes of walking later, you reached the door to the observation room connected to 035’s cell. When you walked in, there was Dr. Yaro, accompanied by Dr. Hagreeves, a Keter class specialist, and one of the most professional women you’ve every known. “Dr. L/N, good morning.” Hagreeves said accompanied with a curt nod in greeting. “Good morning Dr. Hagreeves,” you smiled, turning to Yaro. “Good morning Dr. Yaro,” you said politely, but frowned when she shot you a light glare followed by a “hey” and turned back to the paperwork at her desk. “L/N, I’ve prepared some documents for you, as it has come to my knowledge that you will be the one interviewing SCP-035 today.” Dr. Hagreeves stated, handing you a few papers on a clipboard along with a pen. You flipped and skimmed through them; two of the four papers were the standard questions you asked every other SCP, and the last two were for miscellaneous notes, or answers that didn’t align with the question(s).

“Dr. Yaro and myself will be observing the interview, if that’s alright with you.” You considered letting 035 have his way, meeting you alone and having a chat with his bestie. However, thinking back to what you told Graham and Palo, you didn’t want to make him think he could just do whatever he wants. He might be a close friend, but you still had to treat him like a child sometimes. You shook your head, “No, it’s quite alright; I’d honestly rather you guys observed, so I’m not tempted to strangle him.” Dr. Hagreeves let out a hearty laugh, which was rare of her, and Dr. Yaro only grumbled, hunching over her papers even further.

You stepped into his cell, and 035 practically vibrated from excitement, his comical smile seemed like it stretched wider than normal. The host he had this time was a D-class, you could tell by the orange jumper, and you shuddered a bit from the nostalgia. “Y/N! You came to see me!” He exclaimed as you sat down across from him, and although you tried to glare at him, you couldn’t help a goofy smile from spreading across your face; his enthusiasm was contagious. “Of course I came to see you. Not that I necessarily had a choice, but I’ll let it slide,” you smiled coyly at him, and he only giggled in response. “Ahem. Can we get the interview going already?” Yaro’s voice could be heard over the intercom, and her tone was a mixture of impatient and borderline angry. 

“Ughhhh you’re such a bore!” 035 complained, his smile turning to a frown as he glared at her through the observation window behind me. She didn’t reply, only huffed in exasperation. You sighed, “she’s kind of right 035; as much as I’d like to chat with you about trivial things, I am a professional, and this is part of my work.” 

035 sighed dramatically, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his palm. “You’re the boss, I guess.” You raised an eyebrow at him. “What? It’s 2020, boss is a gender-neutral term!” 

\--049’s Perspective--

I paced in my cell, hands clasped behind my back as I waited for the door to open and Y/N to walk in. There was no clock in my cell, however, I had a good sense of time (and direction), so I knew she had to be at least an hour late by now. I was… excited, to say the least, to talk to her again, even if it was for a psychological evaluation. ‘What could have happened to her…?’ I thought to myself, pushing aside the idea that anything bad could have happened to her. She’s probably just busy; she’s a doctor, much like myself. I shouldn’t be too worried.

I flexed my fingers nervously, leather gloves squeaking in protest, as another half an hour ticked by with no sign of Y/N. If there was nothing I could do about her sudden disappearance, surely I could be a little more productive with my time. I decided to go through my satchel and rearrange my tools, cleaning them thoroughly with a handkerchief before sitting cross-legged on the cold tile floor and arranging them from sharpest to dullest. 

As I lay my curved scalpel next to my straight scalpel (while noting that the amount of different scalpels I had was quite unnecessary), my mind drifted back to Y/N. She was no surgeon, but surely she could appreciate the advanced tools that I possessed; surely she could understand how much time and dedication I put into my work. The others, they didn’t understand at all, just how hard I work to find the perfect cure for the Pestilence. She is a bright, beautiful, talented woman from what I can tell thus far. My excitement returned full force as I finished arranging my tools perfectly on the white cloth in front of me. I folded my hands in my lap, ready to wait for however long it took for her to return so I could show her just how good of a doctor I was. Yes, this was sure to impress her; it was a simple display, but I was eager to see her eyes twinkling as she admired my extensive array of various surgical tools.

\--Your perspective--

Your interview with 035 had taken much longer than expected; although you weren’t entirely surprised. He kept going off topic, extending the previously asked question by adding in a side story of his own. You thought you knew 035 fairly well, but had no clue one individual could have so many life experiences (and yet know nothing about basic etiquette). 

“Well, that concludes our interview 035,” you began before he snorted and you looked at him quizzically. “Jeez, don’t be so formal Y/N. You sound like Gears; and besides, you can call me anything you want. I can give you a few to start; babe, hun, sexy…” You groaned and rolled your eyes, and you were sure that if he had eyebrows they’d be wiggling suggestively. “I’ll catch you later 035. Is that better? I’m not calling you ‘sexy’; you’re far from it.” “You’re one to talk sweetie, I’m getting the sense that your hairbrush has been feeling hella neglected as of late.” He quipped, and you’re cheeks flared in embarrassment as you ran your fingers through a few knots, trying to smooth it down. He only laughed in response.

“Well, I’m not gonna keep you for long. I know scarecrow must be loosing his little bird brain over you being late.” You sighed, suddenly remembering why you had bitten Palo and Graham’s head off this morning; you made a mental note to apologize to them if you saw them later today. “Yeah well, please don’t do that again. If you behave, I might make a recommendation to include you in the Reintegration Program.” He gasped, placing his hands on the table and leaning forward excitedly. “Really?! You’d do that for little ol’ me? I’m touched, really I am.” “Mhm,” you replied, standing up and collecting your papers, glancing back at him as you neared the door. “See ya later sexy,” you said and quickly opened the door, leaving him to squeal excitedly and pretend to swoon.

“Good job L/N, as always. He can be really uncooperative, that one.” Dr. Hagreeves stated, giving you a small smile. “It’s no problem, really,” you laughed a bit. “Yeah, wish he was half as cooperative with me as he is with you.” Yaro piped up, and you couldn’t tell if it was an attempt at a joke or if she was being dead serious.

“Well, I’m going to go see 049; I had to postpone our meeting so 035 could have his fun,” you rolled your eyes but smiled nonetheless, bidding Dr. Hagreeves and Dr. Yaro a good evening, and hurrying back to 049’s cell.

When you reach 049’s cell, there was no one stationed there; outside his door or in the observation room. You shrugged, thinking maybe his regular guards were needed elsewhere. You swiped your key card, opening the door to his cell, and he jerked his head up at the sound as if he had fallen asleep while waiting for you. He was sitting cross-legged in the floor, a white cloth layed out in front of him with-

“049… what are those?” You asked warily. They appeared to be surgical tools; as you began to connect the dots, your heart rate increased by the second. There were no guards… he had his tools layed out as if he were preparing for a surgery… “Ah, doctor Y/N. I’ve been expecting you,” he stood, motioning towards his tools, and clasping his hands behind his back. “Well, what do you think?” He asked, as if you were supposed to know what the hell he was talking about. I forced myself to calm my racing heart; he didn’t seem like he wanted to filet me, but this whole situation was just surreal.

I took a step forward, and he side stepped to let me examine his tools better. I had to admit, looking at them more closely, they were in pristine condition; he obviously took care of them, and for a moment you wondered just how long he had possessed them for. “They’re very lovely 049; very clean, I can tell you take good care of them,” you mirrored your thoughts, and he seemed to swell with pride. “Yes, indeed I do. A dedicated surgeon must have the proper tools to operate. I‘m glad you appreciate my work. Perhaps you’d like to sit in on one of my surgeries?” You nodded; you weren’t that type of doctor, so you hadn’t seen a live surgery before, and it definitely intrigued you. “I’d love that,” you smiled warmly, and you could tell he was smiling as well from the way his eyes crinkled at the corners.

“I’m sorry for being late, 035 made a last minute request for me this morning. I couldn’t necessarily say no…” He chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s quite alright. I know how he can be. Care to sit with me?” He gestured towards his bed, and you nodded, plopping down. You were a little disappointed that it wasn’t very springy. He sat down next to you, much more elegantly than you had done, and there was a moment of silence between the two of you. You thought back to something you had read in his file, and decided that it was a good time to bring it up; you wanted to know more about him, after all.

“049… I read in your file that your clothes are a part of you,” he hummed in response. “Yes, they’re like an extension of myself. Why do you ask?” You bit your lip, an idea swimming through your mind. “I was wondering if you could feel things on your clothes as if they were your skin… like this,” you reached out and ran a hand down his arm lightly, feeling the soft black fabric beneath your fingers. His breath hitched, and you noted he was trying his best not to meet your eyes. Your hands trailed down his bicep towards his forearm, stopping where his sleeve ended and his gloved wrist began. You wouldn’t dare hold his hand; you wanted to, but you had no idea whether this simple gesture was crossing the line or not. “…Yes, I can feel that. Not as if it were my skin, but I can still feel it…” he trailed off, his eyes darting down to where your hand rested. You almost drew back, until he suddenly grasped your hand, intertwining your fingers. You expected his glove to be cold, but it radiated heat, not stifling, but warm nonetheless. Your cheeks burned as you two locked eyes, and his voice was gentle when he asked , “can you feel that..?” You nodded numbly; you could feel his warm gloved hand in yours, but you had a feeling that he was talking about something completely different. Yes, you could feel it, and it was something you had never felt before, not with anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of impressing the reader with his tools was from Keyler in the comments of chapter 2. It was so precious I couldn't help but implement it into my work. Like I said, if anyone has any ideas to add to the story, let me know in the comments. I feel like that makes the story 1. More interesting, and 2. More connected to the actual readers, instead of me dictating what the reader or 049 does all the time.


	4. Release the Hound

It had been a week since you and 049 had held hands. Honestly, the whole situation threw you back to high school, when you had your first boyfriend. The same excitement and giddy feeling from before returned whenever the two of you locked eyes or were close to one another. You tapped your pen on your chin absentmindedly as you were seated in your office, pondering a very important question. What were the two of you? You didn’t know if he’s had a significant other before; and in any case, it was far too soon to call each other that. All you knew was that you really, really liked him; he was kind, polite, gentle, and an extremely smart, dedicated doctor. You could get behind all that, but the only thing you believed that was stopping you from calling it a relationship, was the fact that he was an SCP and your job was directly tied to him. Your mother had always told you never to date within your workplace, and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t imagine this was any different.

Throughout the week you had still done three more interviews with 049, and although you two tried to keep it professional (no hand holding or any of the sort), he still came up with ways to distract you from the interview. Telling you that you looked lovely that day, making small jokes to make you laugh, and his eyes were always trained on yours, a sort of longing deep within them.

“What am I going to do…?” you asked yourself aloud. You glanced at the clock nervously; it was 8:45, and today was a particularly special day. Two weeks had passed since you first began interviewing 049, and the majority of your colleagues agreed that he was doing exceptionally well; we were going to bring him out of his cell and see how he mingles with the staff. Who knows, at this point if he behaves and all goes well, his three month period might be shortened to two. You quickly stood, grabbing your lab coat and smoothing down your hair, before briskly walking out the door to meet Dr. Palo and Dr. Gears at 049’s cell.

It didn’t take you long to reach his cell, as you knew the route by heart. It was 5 minutes to 9 o’clock when you approached Dr. Palo, who was discussing the details with Dr. Gears. “Good morning Dr. L/N,” Dr. Gears noticed you first, and gave you a curt nod along with his greeting. You nodded back with a small “good morning,” and Palo turned to you with a wide smile. “Y/N, you’re just in time. Since you’re his primary scientist, we were hoping you could escort him out, maybe show him the ropes. Make sure he doesn’t get into trouble… he won’t be cuffed after all.” Your eyebrows practically hit the roof. This was a complete 180 from how they treated him when you were first introduced. Still, you weren’t necessarily complaining; you were quite excited for him to really experience the foundation in all it’s glory without restraints.

“Sure sure, leave it to me,” you smiled again, before swiping your key card and opening the door to his cell. 049 was sitting on his bed, but he quickly stood once you entered, and once the door closed behind you, you walked forward until there were mere inches between you. “Good morning, 049.” “Good morning love.” You blushed at the nickname; the word paired nicely with his cute British accent.

“Well, today’s the day; I’ve been looking forward to showing you around the facility,” you said, and he hummed in agreement. “Perhaps at some point during the tour, you’d show me to your personal quarters?” He asked with a lilt, peering down at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Why of course; it’s only fair that I show you mine as I’ve been in yours,” you smirked. “But really, we should get going. They’re probably wondering what’s taking so long,” you laughed, and he sighed wistfully, placing a hand on your waist and brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. “If we must.”

You and 049 walked out of his cell, and were greeted by Palo and Gears, who must have been waiting for the two of you. “Morning 049, you’ve got a full day ahead of you. Y/N here will be showing you around the facility; Y/N, if there’s any problem, Dalton’s standing by on your walkie, alright?” Palo said, and you nodded. “I don’t think there will be, but thank you.” You glanced up at 049 who’s eyes were trained on Dr. Gears. He was stiff, and you nudged him to get his attention. He blinked, looking down at you before turning his attention to Palo. “Yes, well, no need to worry about me. You have a good evening, doctor. I believe me and Dr. L/N should take our leave now.” With that, he started off in the opposite direction, with you quickly following him after casting an apologetic glance back at the two scientists.

When the two of you were out of earshot, you slightly tugged on 049’s robes, gaining his attention. “What was that all about?” He bristled, leaning down to whisper in your ear as if were an important secret that needed to be kept. “Dr. Gears… he has the Pestilence.” A shiver ran down your spine. You knew how 049 felt about the seemingly nonexistent disease; he’d do anything in his power to stop and cure it. How could you have forgotten that it even existed? He’d been acting so normal as of late… well, you were glad he didn’t act on it. That could partly be because you were here to keep him in check.

“I mean… I did get bad vibes from that guy. Please tell me you won’t do anything the both of us would regret. This whole tour is a result of good behavior, don’t forget the foundation’s kindness,” you said sternly, pleading with your eyes for him to understand. He huffed, but nodded nonetheless, and you let out a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. “Right then. I suppose we should visit the psychology branch first, so you can see where I spend my time when I’m not with you.” He perked up at that. “Lead the way, dear doctor.”

After about 10 minutes of walking and chatting, you reached the familiar door to the psychologist’s lab. You swiped your key card, and the doors opened to a large, pristine white room. There were various metal work desks scattered about (some with paperwork piled high and some without), with a scientist or two occupying each. You caught sight of Dr. Hagreeves, with her red hair, freckles, and green eyes, she stood out like a sore thumb. ‘She’s a Keter class specialist… why is she here?’ you thought to yourself. You turned to 049, giving him a wide grin. “Come on, there’s someone I want to introduce you to.” You started leading him through the sea of psychologists, only a hand few of which you knew the names of, given that you had your own personal office. That didn’t stop them from staring in awe at 049, and you felt a little bad, knowing he wasn’t very good with crowds.

“Dr. Hagreeves!” You greeted her when the two of you stopped a little ways away, and she turned with a smile that seemed to falter when she caught sight of 049 in tow. “Dr. L/N, how good to see you again. I see you’ve brought 049 with you…?” It was more of a question than a statement, and you smiled nervously. “Yeah, he’s the first SCP to be apart of the Reintegration Program. It’s been two weeks, so they figured we could bring him out; I’m giving him a tour so he’ll know what he’s being brought into when the time comes for him to be reintegrated.” Her mouth made a small ‘o’ at your explanation. Before you could properly introduce them, you caught sight of Dr. Yaro approaching out of the corner of your eye. 

She quickly stormed up to the three of you, standing beside Dr. Hagreeves and crossing her arms. “What’s the meaning of this?” She sassed, looking you up and down. Your head jerked back at her blatant rudeness, and you were about to reply when 049 spoke for the first time since you two had entered, cutting you off. “I could ask the same of you, storming in and interrupting us like that; how very unprofessional. I’ll save Y/N the trouble of explaining herself to the likes of you,” he paused to take a threatening step towards her, and she stood her ground; although the way she trembled slightly, and the way her eyes were wide with fear betrayed her. “I’m here because the foundation has so graciously accepted me into their Reintegration Program, and Y/N is giving me a tour of the facility on behalf of said foundation. So if you have a problem, I would bring it up with them. Aside from that, if you have a problem with me in particular, it would be in your best interest to address it here and now. I will soon be working with you, after all. I can’t say I’ll be looking forward to it if you decide to keep that attitude of yours. Are we clear?” 

By now the room was dead silent, all eyes trained on the scene that was quickly unfolding. You were frozen to the spot, mouth slightly agape as you watched Yaro sniff and nod her head vigorously; even as 049 straightened, he towered over her (she was shorter than you by at least 3 or 4 inches), and it was enough to send her borderline scurrying away. There were several moments of silence, before Dr. Hagreeves recovered from the initial shock of witnessing how truly frightening 049 could be. She turned to the psychologists that had stopped what they were doing, and crossed her arms. “Alright, back to work, all of you,” she stated sharply, and immediately the sound of pens scribbling against paper and the low hum of voices started up again.

You weren’t sure how you should feel about what happened, but after a second of contemplation, you settled on peeved. “049, don’t get me wrong, that was very nice of you to stand up for me like that but,” You began before Hagreeves interrupted. “Are you kidding me? That was fucking awesome!” She whisper shouted, and you nearly got whiplash from how hard your head jerked in her direction. She blushed lightly at her little outburst, before continuing. “She needed to be put in her place. She’s been slacking on her work, and has been quite snippy with the staff, no matter their rank. Hopefully knowing 049 here will be working with her will put some ethic into her work; if not scare her into doing it.” 

Your mouth closed, as you suddenly realized it had been open since she started talking. You had to admit, she had a point, but you couldn’t stop thinking about how the higher ups would react to this little incident.

“Right… well, I suppose we should move the tour along, now that 049’s got a good feel of the psychologist’s lab along with it’s staff,” you glanced up at him, and he averted his eyes sheepishly. “Good luck you two. Where are you off to next?” Hagreeves inquired, and you thought about it for a moment. “Probably Keter lab, it’s closer after all.” She nodded and bid the two of you ado once again.

Once you two were outside, you looked up at him expectantly. “…What? I’m not going to apologize, if that’s what you’re wondering.” You sighed, and the two of you headed in the direction of Keter labs. You slipped your hand into his, intertwining your fingers. “I appreciate you protecting me, I really do. We all have those co-workers that grate our nerves, and we just learn to deal with them. I wouldn’t have done the same, so I suppose that’s why I’m a little confused.” He stopped and turned to you, making you stop in your tracks as well. “Darling, I’d do anything to protect you. If I were you I’d get used to it, the last thing I want is for you to feel confused or lost when you’re with me.” He squeezed your hand reassuringly and you smiled up at him. He was really good at this whole relationship thing.

When the two of you reached Keter lab and entered, you nearly bumped into a Keter scientist, who you recognized as a young doctor named Ray Reyes. He looked up, raven hair falling into his eyes to the point where he had to lift his bangs to get a good look at you. “Oh! Doctor L/N, are you here to see 035?” he inquired. You could suddenly feel 049’s judgmental gaze trained on the back of your head, and you chuckled nervously. “No Ray, not today. I’m just showing 049 the ropes. I assume you Keters have been briefed on the whole Reintegration Program thing? Please tell me you have; I’ve had to explain it like 5 times today.” “Oh yeah, we were briefed! It’s a pleasure to met you, 049 sir,” Ray grinned widely, almost holding out his hand for a handshake before remembering why that wasn’t the best idea. 

“…The pleasure is mine,” 049 stated simply. You could tell 049 didn’t necessarily want to be here; probably because 035 was a popular subject among the Keter scientists, and there was the possibility he was out of his cell for testing. “Hey,” you tugged on 049’s sleeve as Ray walked past. “It’ll be a quick in and out, ok? Then we’ll head back to my office, if you’d like.” “Well then, what are we waiting for?” He said a little too quickly, and you rolled your eyes, leading him inside the lab. 

The lab was quieter than it usually was, for once. There might have been maybe 12 scientists present, and you wondered where the other half were. “I thought it’d be more active,” 049 mirrored your thoughts, and you shrugged in response. You led him through the room, introducing him to various scientists as you went. Some might find it odd that you knew more scientists in the Keter lab than in the Psychologists’ lab, but you found Keters to be more sociable, whereas the Psychologists were very work driven and introverted. Not to mention the majority of them had been here for years before you came along, and already you were the best of the best. That fact didn’t sit well with a lot of people. 

You were slightly disappointed that you couldn’t get to see 035 before the two of you left (although you were sure 049 wasn’t), you kind of wanted to see his reaction when you told him that 049 and yourself were dating.

As the two of you approached the door to your office, you felt nervousness set it. You had no idea what state you had left it in; what if there were papers everywhere? What if it hadn’t been dusted? There were so many ways this could go wrong, but still, you swiped your key card and opened the door to find everything in order; papers stacked neatly, not a speck of dust to be found, and even your numerous empty coffee cups had all but disappeared. You blinked, wondering who could have done it, but quickly came out of your stupor, inviting 049 in. 

“My my, what a lovely little office you have,” 049 looked around, running a hand over your desk and examining the filing cabinets. “Ah, well, I’m glad you like it… I was really lucky to get my own personal office; usually they’re reserved for higher ups and Euclid scientists.” You said, and he hummed in response, before taking a seat in your comfortable office chair. You in turn hopped up on your desk and faced him. “You seemed rather eager for this part of the tour… any particular reason?” you asked cheekily, tilting your head to the side in curiosity.

He let out a low chuckle that rumbled in his chest, and it sent shivers up your spine, as he scooted the rolling chair forward until the both of you were mere inches away. Because of how high the desk was raised (sometimes you would adjust it so you could stand and work), he had to tilt his head upwards to meet your eyes. “Curiosity, my dear. I find you rather intriguing… you aren’t like the other doctors. You’re professional, open-minded, and extremely intelligent,” he said while toying with the hem of your lab coat, and your cheeks only got hotter with every compliment. 

“I could say the same for you. Remember how I told you that you were an enigma?” He nodded, with a slight hum for you to continue. “Well, I wouldn’t say that anymore. I haven’t gotten you entirely figured out, but truth be told I don’t think I ever could. Not that I want to… I love a good mystery.” You said, reaching a hand out to run a finger along his beak. It was incredibly smooth, and felt like cold steel against the pad of your pointer finger. You had always wondered what his beak felt like, and now that you had a chance to find out, you weren’t entirely surprised by your findings.

He closed his eyes and leaned into your touch, letting out a noise you had never heard before. It sounded… like he was cooing? You know, like a pigeon in a park would do when you feed it bread. You stifled a laugh (you knew laughing at him wouldn’t go over well) at how utterly adorable that was. However, part of you wondered how long it had been since he had physical contact; he certainly seemed to enjoy it. When you first read his extensive file, you came across some background information; he was found in France, he had been apprehended by the police and the foundation took him in. France is a fairly old country; you wondered how long he had lived there, since his accent appeared to be British, not French.

You decided that while the two of you were alone, this seemed to be a good time to learn more about him. “Hey 049… I have a question,” he opened his eyes, and they bore a heaviness to them, as if he were mere minutes away from falling asleep. “Hm?” he blinked a few times before meeting your eyes. You noted that stroking his beak is a quick way to get him to fall asleep; file that away for the future.

“You were initially found in France, right? Why do you have a British accent then?” “Well, I used to travel quite a bit before I came here. Europe has changed, including the people, but some mannerisms stay the same. I suppose I spent most of my time in London; I later moved my work to France and intended to settle there.” You hummed, and continued to pet his beak absentmindedly. You started to daydream about what it would be like to live in France; the places you would go, the people and sights you would see…

You were snapped out of your pleasant daydream when you noticed 049 resting his head in your lap, eyes closed as you continued to run your fingers over his smooth beak. The sight made you smile; he looked peaceful when he was asleep, far from the disturbed, unhinged doctor the other scientists thought he was. In actuality he was kind, gentle, and extremely intelligent. You remembered a conversation the two of you had last week, where he showed you the notes in his journal for the first time. You couldn’t decipher the words, so he translated them for you; there were five full pages on the human anatomy, specifically the brain and how it worked, completed with a very detailed drawing of the brain itself. 

There were other pages that were subsections to the first five, and that alone proved how competent he was as a doctor. The foundation would be blessed to have a person such as himself on their team. You were confident that this whole process would be over as quickly as it had started, and soon the two of you would be working in the labs together. You thought about that often, but anytime you imagined him working within the foundation, the thought of the Pestilence came to mind. He had sensed it in Dr. Gears, so who knew how many other people supposedly had it? And what would he do if left alone with said person…? 

Suddenly the door to your office swung open, making you jump and also disturbing 049’s rest. He bolted upright, accidentally upper-cutting you with the end of his beak, making your head jerk back and a pain blossom under your chin. 

“Uhm… I’m sorry to interrupt… whatever this is,” Dalton’s voice came from the doorway, and you glanced at him while rubbing your chin to soothe the ache. You sighed, scooting off of the edge of your desk as 049 wheeled the chair back to make room for you. “Dalton, hi, I thought I’d radio you if there’s something wrong.” 

He looked down at his feet sheepishly, hands behind his back. “Well, uhm, that’s the thing; you hadn’t, so I figured I’d just check up on you.” “But how did you know that I was at my office?” you inquired, tapping your foot and crossing your arms in irritation. “I… looked at the surveillance footage. It’s been about 30 minutes since you guys came in.” You raised your brow, partly because you hadn’t realized it had been that long, and partly because you couldn’t believe how paranoid he was.

“I appreciate the concern, but we’re fine, as you can see.” He made one of his signature scoff-snorts, the corners of his mouth turning downwards in the beginnings of a frown. “Yeah, more than fine I’d say.”

049 stood from the chair, drawing your attention away from Dalton’s saltiness until he stopped beside you. “Yes, the concern is appreciated,” he paused to loop an arm around your waist, drawing you closer to his side possessively. “However, I believe it is quite unnecessary. I would never harm my beloved Y/N.” Your cheeks heated for the fifth or sixth time that day; honestly you were quite surprised at how open 049 was, as well as possessive. No one had really been possessive over you, so to speak; you could get used to it.

Dalton cleared his throat, looking anywhere but where 049’s hand was placed on your hip. “Right, well, Dr. Palo is looking for you guys. The day’s almost over after all… I’ll get going now.” And with that, he turned on his heel, speed walking away down the hall, probably off to his regular post. Once he was out of earshot, you turned to 049 with a smirk. “What was that all about, Mr. Possessive?” you teased, and he turned towards you fully, placing his other hand on your hip as well, pulling you towards him so you had to crane your neck to look at him.

“Just reminding him of who you’re with. I may not be a psychologist, but I can see right through him; and let’s just say I didn’t like what I saw.” You let out a small laugh, choosing to take his thinly veiled threat lightly; the both of you knew 049 wouldn’t go to the extreme to have you for himself, because you were already his and vice versa.

“Well, if Dr. Palo is looking for us, we should probably go meet him outside your cell.” And with that, the two of you walked down the hall towards 049’s holding area.

After you reached his cell and bid 049 a good evening, Dr. Palo turned to you with a suspiciously wide grin. “…What?” You asked him incredulously. His grin only seemed to get wider. “How did it go?” “How’d what go?” You weren’t sure where this conversation was headed, but you didn’t like it; it was one thing if Dalton knew, he was simply a guard, but a high level scientist such as Dr. Palo…

“You know… oh come on, don’t play coy Y/N; I want all the details of how your little office party went. All of them. Don’t worry, I can take it.” Your heart dropped to the very pit of your stomach, your face blanching at the fear of your relationship being discovered. He seemed to notice your reaction, as his smile fell, before being replaced by a smugness. “Who do you think cleaned that pig sty you call an office? I may be old enough to be your dad, but I think age only aids me in seeing the unseen. Don’t worry, I’ll keep your little secret.” Realization hit you all at once; of course he’d find out first, he’s usually the one that observes you and 049’s interviews. Hell, he probably planned the whole tour day just to give the two of you a chance. And cleaning your office on top of all of that?

“Dr. Palo, I can’t,” “Relax, you don’t have to thank me. I was your age once, after all.” He sighed wistfully, patting you on the shoulder. “Let me tell you, I had my fair share of affairs when I was in my prime…” You scrunched up your face, and got the feeling he was about to go on another tangent about his ‘exotic encounters.’ You plucked his hand from your shoulder, dusting it off dramatically. “You know what, I’m sure you did. Nothing I need to hear about, though. Thanks again and have a good night.” As you were walking away back to your office, you could hear him howling with laughter; you couldn’t help but shake your head and laugh along with him, albeit a lot more quieter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was twice as long as the other three. My first three chapters are roughly 2,000-2,500 words long; this one was 4,369 words exactly. I'm likin' the new upload schedule guy, lol. It gives me more time to think about/write new chapters. Hopefully future chapters will be just as long as this one, but if they're not it's probably because I have writer's block and/or life things get in the way.


	5. A Storm is Brewing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens! I don't think a good story can be called a good story without a few plot twists and drama. As a side note, I'm going to be writing a side story on 035; it will be called "Madness Behind the Mask," and it's in a Zombie Apocalypse setting. Sounds a bit random, I know. But I'm kind of excited for it, since I'll be writing 035 in a different way, a complete 180 from how I currently write him. So if you're a fellow 035 lover, be sure to check it out once I post the first chapter! Don't worry, I'll still be updating Affection and Affliction every Tuesday and Friday. Madness Behind the Mask will be updated every Sunday, because A&A is my main focus right now. As always, I hope you enjoy!

Dr. Hagreeves’ POV;

I stared at the scientist in front of me lackadaisically, twirling a lock of red hair around my pointer finger in a lazy, methodical manner. My legs were crossed, and my right arm supported my weight on the arm of the chair, as I slouched into it’s side to get more comfortable. Heaven only knew how long I had been sitting at this meeting; it had to be lunch time by now, and we started at 8 o’clock sharp. 

The table I was sitting at was a large marble, oval shaped table, enough to fit at least 15 scientists and higher ups. All of the seats were filled, with the most important people at each end of the table and Euclid scientists on the sides. I somehow found myself sitting at an opposite end; I had never given much thought to my status, and often saw myself as simply a hardworking head-of-Keter-class scientist. That was foolish of me, in actuality. Status was everything at the foundation, as well as reputation. It was something I tried to instill in my niece, Tamara Yaro, however her stubbornness and hubris only set her up for failure. It wasn’t her place to hate Y/N for something she herself could not do.

I glanced around at all the people in the room, 90% of which I recognized. There was Dr. Gears of course, since he was a very high ranking Euclid scientist; he was currently standing at the front of the room. His lips were moving, but my ears had been trained to tune out his boring, monotonous, robotic voice. The closest to him was Dr. Graham, a man in his mid 30’s, with slicked back dirty blonde hair as well as a neatly trimmed beard and striking ocean blue eyes. Next to him was Dr. Palo; early 50’s, balding brown hair, and a handlebar mustache, with honey brown eyes. 

I wasn’t the only Keter scientists here, I quickly realized as I spotted a rookie seated on the long side of the table, adjacent to Dr. Palo. His name was Ray, but the rest of the Keters often called him ‘Ray-gun.’ Keter scientists were well known for having the younger, more ambitious scientists, so I wasn’t entirely surprised to see Ray present at the meeting; I remember half a year ago he was an intern, frankly it felt like yesterday. Long raven hair that barely reached his shoulders, choppy bangs that tickled the bridge of his nose, and large black rectangular glasses that made his stunning hazel eyes look 3 times their size. He had to be in his early 20’s, probably one of the youngest scientists in the foundation, next to Y/N. 

I continued to twirl my long lock of hair, my eyes flitting to various other scientists in the room; one more Keter, making three total if I were to including myself, six Euclids, and six administrators/directors. I sighed, turning my attention back to Dr. Gears; he was still talking, but I wasn’t surprised. I squinted, trying to pick out words from his flat, inexpressive tone, and I perked up at the mention of the Reintegration Program.

“Dr. L/N has been doing… surprisingly well, working with SCP-049. As far as where we are in the process, there are two months left of evaluations, before he is either released into the facility to work alongside us, or deemed in-efficacious and sent back to his containment,” He stopped to answer a question, and I narrowed my eyes at him. We had already been briefed on this matter; why bring it up now? What more could there possibly be to this process?

“Good question, Dr. Walker. The reason I bring this up, the reason all of you are gathered here today, the best of the best in one room… is because I have a proposition. I decided it’d be best to get the opinions of well-qualified and levelheaded scientists such as yourselves, before diving head first into unknown territory.” My finger ceased in it’s twirling, my undivided attention solely trained on Dr. Gears.

“We all know how SCP-049 can be. He’s unhinged, unpredictable, and can be extremely aggressive. However, as of late, he’s been showing us something completely different,” Gears started pacing slowly back and forth, all eyes trained on him, including mine. “He’s been… docile, almost. He’s not easily angered… he’s more cooperative with the staff. And it all started when Dr. L/N began interviewing him.” 

My eyes widened, breath catching in my throat. What the hell was this bastard planning? Whatever it was, I didn’t like where he was going with this proposition. People always joked that Gears had something lacking in his brain, some sort of empathy switch that had been permanently turned off. Those jokes weren’t always meant to be taken as such.

“I want to run a series of tests on SCP-049. Some will involve Dr. L/N, some will be individual tests.” Dr. Palo frowned, crossing him arms. “What kind of tests are we talking here? And why do they involve Dr. L/N?” He mirrored my thoughts perfectly, although he sounded a bit more agitated than I was. 

“It’s simple, she’s closest to him.” Dr. Gears answered with a slight frown. “So you’re going to extort her for your own personal gain? All for some unnecessary experiment?” I jumped in, my eyes cold and unwavering as I stared Gears down from across the room. His expression was unreadable as he stared back, before he spoke after a long pause.

“You seem rather fond of Dr. L/N. Is there something you’d like to tell us?” He responded coolly, tilting his chin up to peer down at me. My blood boiled with rage and I bared my teeth, barely able to keep myself from leaping out of the chair and strangling him. “You seem rather fond of pissing me off; I wouldn’t go there if I were you, unless you fancy having a broken jaw,” I growled out, gripping the arms of my chair so tightly that the leather gave way under my fingernails. How dare he bring my sexuality into this? This was about testing Y/N like some sort of lab rat!

“Now now, let’s just all calm down, shall we? Don’t want any broken jaws or otherwise. Although I have to agree with Dr. Hagreeves; if it were in the interest of the foundation then I’d be all for it. Given that it seems more for personal gain, however, I can’t entirely agree with your methods,” Dr. Bright stated, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms. 

I smirked triumphantly, knowing that with Dr. Bright’s disapproval, the rest of the scientists would follow suit; there was no way Gears could conduct these kinds of experiments by himself.

“Fine. I’ll do it myself then,” He stated simply, reaching for and collecting the materials he had prepared. My smile fell, replaced with an incredulous look. Was he serious? “Are you serious?” Again, my thoughts were mirrored by Dr. Palo. We ought to hang out more, he seems to get me.

“Oh, quite. I’ll do it myself, if all of you are too blind to see that 049 and Dr. L/N have an unprofessional bond. And we can use that bond to figure out what we don’t know about SCP-049. It’s the perfect opportunity to do such; it would’ve been great if the foundation could back my efforts, but I’ll still get the job done.” 

My eyes flitted to Dr. Bright, expecting him to fire him on the spot for insubordination or something like that; but he simply laughed. “Watch yourself, Charles. I can admire ambition, but don’t push it, alright? You’re right, you won’t be getting the foundation’s support; but if you want to run around and waste your time on speculations then be my guest.” With that, he stood up, and rest of us quickly followed.

“You’re all dismissed. Gears, a word with you alone.” As we all filed out of the room, an idea sparked in my mind. I quickly strode up to Ray, and once he caught sight of me, he straightened, dusting off his lab coat and grinning at me nervously. “Relax kid, I’m not here to chastise you. You’ve actually been working really hard in the labs,” I said to ease his nervousness. It worked instantly as he let out a small sigh, his shoulders slumping. “T-thank you, Dr. Hagreeves; but, what brings you here?” 

I leaned in slightly so as no one could overhear what I was about to say. “I have a job for you, if you’re up for it, that is.” He perked up at that; man, this kid was eager to please. Good; an ass-kisser could come in very helpful when I have him look into what exactly Dr. Gears has in store for Y/N.

Your POV;

You typed away at your computer feverishly, getting ahead of your work for today and tomorrow, so that maybe you could see 049 at the end of the day. It had been two weeks since he was let out; a month had passed in total, meaning there were only 2 left until his final evaluation. For some reason unbeknownst to you, all the important and top-tier scientists had a staff meeting this morning. You had hoped you could be apart of it, as you had never been apart of a real staff meeting before. However, you did know that there weren’t any psychologists present at the meeting, so you chalked it up to it being secret science stuff that didn’t involve your expertise.

You hit the enter button on your computer, exhaling deeply and placing your hands behind your head as you submitted the last of tomorrow’s work. Man did it feel good to get ahead. You glanced at the clock, eyebrows arching when you saw it was lunch time already. You suppose you should grab a bite to eat at the cafeteria downstairs; after all, you had eaten only a bagel and a small cup of coffee, and that was 4 hours ago.

As you entered the elevator, you saw Dr. Hagreeves speed walking to catch it, so you quickly stuck your arm out and held it for her. As she settled next to you, you turned to her and smiled politely. “Good afternoon Dr. Hagreeves.” “Y/N, we need to talk. Care to have lunch with me?” She said, looking straight ahead. You blinked at her; she was being awfully weird. Usually she wasn’t this… informal? Urgent? Either way you nodded, saying a quick “sure,” and her shoulders seemed to relax. “In the Keter labs, if that’s alright with you.” 

Ok, now this definitely was weird; the Keter labs were not only back upstairs, but quite a walk away form your office. “Uhm… sure, that’s fine I guess, but what’s going on?” As the elevator slowed to a stop, she pursed her lips in thought, glancing at you from the corner of her eye. “I’ll explain everything later; for now, you’re going to visit 035 after you eat. Alright?” “Alright…” you said hesitantly; but you were hungry and couldn’t care less where you ate as long as you ate something. And who knows, maybe you would visit 035 after you ate; it had been three weeks since you had seen him.

By the time you piled up your plate with various meats and cheese, as well as a few veggies (the cafeteria was one of your favorite places in the foundation due to the variety they had) Dr. Hagreeves was already waiting by the elevator. You glanced over at her plate, and all she had was a Cobb Salad. You weren’t surprised; she seemed like a healthy person in any case.

The two of you entered the elevator again, and it was uncomfortably silent even after you exited and made your way to Keter labs. Dr. Hagreeves swiped her key-card against the pad, opening the familiar doors to the large workspace. There were about 20 Keter scientists working at the moment, but none of them looked up at the sound of the door opening, too engrossed in their work. You could admire that; psychologists in your branch were far too nosy in your opinion. The desks were very neatly arranged; five rows with four desks in each on the left side of the room. The right side of the room had various computer stations lined up against the wall (they were quite large), and there was even a coffee station at the end of the room.

Dr. Hagreeves led you to a hallway branching off from the main room, and she stopped at a door a little ways off, swiping the key-card against the pad and inviting you inside. You stepped into what appeared to be a personal office, and a nice one at that. It was very roomy compared to the one you owned, with a granite desk, a nicer computer, two comfy looking chairs against the wall, and even her desk chair was jet black with a higher backing for comfort. You whistled lowly, looking around at all the trinkets she kept on her desk, as well as… was that a mini chandelier on the ceiling?

Dr. Hagreeves chuckled a bit at your amazement. “I’m glad you like it Y/N. Please, take a seat.” She pulled up a plush, velvet chair from against the wall and pushed it to the large desk so you could sit and eat. You sat down (just as comfy as you had imagined it’d be) and placed your tray on the desk while she sat in her desk chair, plopping down her salad bowl, but not eating immediately. Instead she turned to you, and you swallowed the mouthful of deli ham you had shoved in your mouth hungrily.

“So, Y/N… as you know, there was a very important staff meeting this morning. Technically I can’t discuss the details if you weren’t invited…” “Then why are you telling me..?” You asked curiously. “Because the main topic of the meeting was about you. And what I heard was very concerning…” You frowned, heart sinking as you put down your fork and listened intently.

“Firstly, the meeting was conducted by Dr. Gears; now mind you, we had already had a briefing on the Reintegration Program, but for some reason he felt the need to bring it up again. This time with a proposal. He wants to test SCP-049, conduct some experiments. And the disturbing part is, he wants to use you to do them, or involve you in some way; he thinks you have an unprofessional relationship with 049, and he’s going to use it against you. Y/N… I need you to be honest with me. Is there anything going on with you and SCP-049…?” As you listened, your heart sank further and further, apprehension quickly being replaced by fear. Your skin prickled, the feeling of being cold yet hot at the same time washed over you, and your breathing was shallow. You clutched the wooden arm of the chair for any sort of support as the world around you spun almost violently.

“Y/N? Y/N!” Dr. Hagreeves suddenly came into your line of sight as she gripped your shoulders, forcing you to look at her. “Y/N, calm down. I’m here, you don’t need to be afraid,” she began, but her voice sounded far away. “List five things you can see around you,” she said, and you blinked. You could feel your eyes scan the room, but you felt like you weren’t in your own body, like you were being controlled by a puppeteer and you were simply a lifeless doll connected by strings. “P-pen… desk.. uhm, computer… cabinet.. glasses.” You said as Hagreeves was slowly coming into focus. 

“Four things you can touch,” she urged. You shakily ran your hand over the arm of the chair, and shut your eyes as another wave of nausea came over you. 

“Chair… my clothes.. scrunchie, on my arm.. your hands on my shoulder.” “Good, good. Now, three things you can hear.” You strained to listen to anything, the ringing in your ears slowly subsiding. “My heart, my breathing.. and there’s a hum; I think it’s your computer.” She smiled gently at you, rubbing your shoulders to soothe your anxiety. “You’re doing great, we’re almost there. Two things you can smell?” “Ham and… dressing. I think it’s Italian.” “Now, one thing you can taste.” You swallowed thickly, swiping your tongue over your teeth. “Ham.” You stated simply.

She let go of your arms, leaning back and sighing in relief. You also let out a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. You blinked a few times, realizing what had happened, and embarrassment made your cheeks flush pink. “I’m sorry… I don’t know what happened there…” Dr. Hagreeves shook her head, giving you a sad smile. “It’s quite alright Y/N. I’m just glad you’re fine now. I use that technique on some of my scientists; shit can get stressful in this line of work.” 

You nodded in understanding, biting your lip as you contemplated answering her question. “…There is. I mean, there is something going on with me and 049…” You said after a few moments, looking at your quivering hands that were placed in your lap. Dr. Hagreeves sighed, and you feared the worst; maybe she would chastise you for being unprofessional, maybe she would tell Dr. Bright…

“It’s ok Y/N; I know what you’re thinking. And no, I won’t tell anyone. But this new information only adds to my concern for what Dr. Gears has in store for you two.” 

“Uhm.. do we know what Dr. Gears is planning..? I feel like that’s an important piece of information that we’re lacking.” She chuckled a bit, grinning as if she had some sort of plan already in the making. “I’ve got that covered, don’t worry about it. I can’t tell you who yet; I don’t know if Gears is going to approach you or not after this, but let’s just say I planted a mole to get us the information we need.” You tilted your head and arched an eyebrow curiously. “…Ok fine, it’s Ray,” she giggled excitedly, making you smile a bit as well. “It’s so exciting; I mean, the circumstance isn’t exciting, but I feel like a spy or something! It can be boring, dealing with the same tasks everyday. I need some excitement in my line of work.” 

You shook your head with a chuckle. “I think anybody looking in would say your line of work is far from boring; but I get what you mean.” Your growling stomach interrupted the laugh the two of you were sharing, and you grinned sheepishly. “Go ahead and eat your lunch, Y/N. I’m sure you must be starving by now.” She said, already digging a fork into her tasty looking salad. Even the way she ate was precise and in a weird way, elegant. Not needing to be told twice, you hungrily shoved more ham and cheese in your mouth, biting into a juicy strawberry before you had even swallowed the last of what was in your mouth. 

The two of you ate in comfortable silence, and you pondered the new information Dr. Hagreeves had provided you. What would you do about 049? You wanted to tell him, you really did. But there was no possible way you could reveal such a huge secret; there were security cameras in his cell, and Dr. Gears had access to those along with their audio. Maybe that’s how he had figured it out; it was stupid to think no one would’ve checked those, with 049’s history. Aside from that, your interviews were always monitored by either Dr. Palo or Dr. Graham. Palo knew, which is why you had been relatively comfortable around 049 when the two of you were interviewing. Relatively, since you felt awkward showing affection to 049 while ‘pervert Palo’ was watching, of all people. 

After lunch was over, you and Dr. Hagreeves left her office, talking about trivial things and laughing as if nothing was wrong. They were genuine laughs, though; you had no idea Dr. Hagreeves could be so funny, so casual. She was a very work-driven/hardworking individual, and maybe after all of this was over, the two of you could hang out outside of the workplace… whenever that may be.

“So, I know I mentioned you seeing 035 earlier… but would you actually like to see him? Since you’re already here.” Dr. Hagreeves inquired, a serious look on her face. “O-oh, it’s ok, I don’t want you to go through that whole process just so I can see him..” She shook her head, already waving over a scientist from one of their tables. “Nonsense. He’s your friend, and I get that. Besides, if anyone asks, you’re doing an evaluation for the Reintegration Program. I’ve been trying to get him in for a week and a half now anyways.”

“Really?” You were honestly surprised that 1. Dr. Hagreeves was vouching for 035, and 2. That anyone wanted him in the Reintegration Program to begin with. As much as you loved him, he was brash, flamboyant, and unvarnished when it came to the truth; which resulted in numerous scientists being transferred to a different SCP, or being shipped away to a different facility entirely. Now that you thought about it, the reason as to why Yaro was so cold and unruly might be because of 035’s psychological influence on her. She had been working with him for at least 5 months, to your knowledge.

“Well, thank you Dr. Hagreeves!” You said in a chipper tone, and she only smiled. “You can call me Ashley. It’s just between the two of us though. I feel bad for constantly saying ‘Y/N’ when you don’t know my first name.” She winked with a small giggle, before telling the scientist that had arrived to go and prepare an interview room for 035 and yourself. “Have a good evening, Y/N.” With that, she turned on her heel and strode towards a desk on the left side of the room. You caught a glimpse of her leaning down to whisper in Ray’s ear before he perked up, nodded vigorously, and started collecting his materials , probably heading for Euclid labs.

“Sooo… first name basis with Dr. Hagreeves huh?” The scientist asked coyly, a small smile playing on her lips. Your eyes widened and you waved your hands in front of you as a blush crept onto your face. “Honestly, i-it’s not like that at all! We’re just friends…” you tried to convey, and her grin only widens. “Alright, ‘friend of Ashley’s’, follow me, I’ll show you to your room.” You frown, but follow her anyways. She looked like the type to gossip, but you hoped you were wrong. The last thing you need is another scandal; although what could be a bigger scandal than dating an SCP?

The two of you reached the designated interview room within minutes, and you were grateful to escape the scientists’ prodding and questioning. She swiped her key-card against the pad, and the door opened to an observation room like any other interview room. However, there was only one scientist present; he was a Keter, but you couldn’t remember his name to save your life. Your shoulders slumped as you realized the Keter next to you would be observing the interview as well.

“Alright Y/N, David and myself are gonna monitor your interview so nothin bad happens, 035 can be a real prick sometimes.” Your frown deepened, and you could tell this chick either didn’t get out much, or didn’t get assigned important tasks often. It was probably the latter, and you honestly didn’t blame Ashley for it. “He’s not that bad…” you protested, and she only laughed; you instantly hated it.

“Jesse, shut the fuck up and get to work,” David said tiredly, running a tanned hand through his curly raven locks, and giving her a dead stare. The bags under his eyes were so prominent, you were immediately drawn to them, and it was near impossible to look away.

Jesse pursed her lips in annoyance, and you marveled at how effective David’s methods of shutting her up were. “Whatever,” she mumbled and lead you into the observation room, where she closed the door behind you. You sat down in the cold metal chair, and David’s voice rang out over the intercom. “SCP-035 will be here soon, so I’d prepare some notes. Or, erm… do whatever you would do for an evaluation.” You stuck your hand in the air and gave him a thumbs up, before grabbing the clipboard, papers, and pen that were provided for you on the corner of the table. 

You quickly scribbled down some questions to ask him, there were 12 total, and clicked the pen to close it before a thought came to your mind. You clicked it back on, crossing out the second question and replacing it with a more personal one. It was a shot in the dark on whether he’d actually answer it (it might even offend him a bit) but you were extremely curious to hear his answer. 

The door slid open, and you turned your head to see two guards escorting 035 in; he was cuffed of course. “Y/N! What a pleasant surprise!!” 035 exclaimed, that all-too familiar grin plastered on his face; you rarely saw his frown, aside from when 049 insulted him and when Dr. Yaro got snippy with me. “Hey 035, how’s it hangin’?” You grinned as he sat down across from you and the cuffs were removed. He shook his hands, rotating his wrists dramatically, glad to be free from the restraints. “Oh you know, the usual. Alone, propped up in a glass cube for weeks; that is, until you came and rescued me!” 

Your eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Weeks? They haven’t done any tests with you lately?” You asked, a bit concerned. He sighed, propping his elbow on the table and placing his chin in his hand. “Nope. Been sooo fucking bored. I mean, I know I’m technically an inanimate object, but they could at least put a TV in my cell!” You chuckled a bit at that; you could already see him staring at it intently from inside his case, absorbing all the new slang and phrases that were thrown at him.

“Well, I’ve got some good news to cheer you up.” He dropped his arm, placing both hands on the table and leaning forward intently. “This interview in particular is an evaluation; if it goes well, you’ll officially be apart of the Reintegration Program, if Dr. Hagreeves approves of the collected data.” He gasped, squealing like a pig as he threw his hands up. “Slap me on the ass and call me Jeremiah; there is a God after all!!” He screamed at the ceiling. 

You busted out laughing, and he laughed with you (maniacally of course). When the two of you calmed down after a minute, you wiped a stray tear away from the corner of your eye. “Ah.. well, let’s get started shall we? There’s no time to waste.” “You’re tellin’ me! It’s like what, 3 o’clock now.”

After you had asked a few general questions, you glanced down at the paper, staring at the second question you had written but avoided until now. “Hey 035… this question is a bit personal. You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.” He chuckled, placing his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair slightly. “I’m in a pretty good mood; shoot.” 

“What’s up with Dr. Yaro? Like… why is she so, you know… mean, offensive, unhinged; especially towards me.” He stilled, the front of his chair landing back on the concrete ground with a small thud. Then he let out a small chuckle; and that chuckle turned into a bigger one. That bigger one quickly turned into a laugh, until he was clutching his stomach and wheezing, shoulders shaking violently.

You’ve never been more disturbed in your entire life. 

035’s POV/Flashback;

Of course Y/N would figure out that I was the reason why Yaro was acting like such a bitch. Well… she was a bitch before; I just added my own personal charm, which she desperately needed. 5 months ago, when Yaro first started interviewing me, she hadn’t intrigued me much. Just another dumbass pretending to know what they’re doing; asking this and that, jotting down my answers as if she actually gave a fuck what I like and don’t like. Her entire presence pissed me off; I hoped that Y/N would interview me instead, or at least that they’d put me with someone else.

I like making people laugh; it’s my specialty, aside from acting. Even though I utterly detested Yaro, I tried to make her laugh every once and awhile, partly because she really needed to smile more in my opinion. One day it actually worked; she busted out laughing, throwing her head back and howling like a wolf. Her laugh… it wasn’t too bad to listen to. Dare I say it sounded lovelier than Y/N’s. I wanted to hear it more often, so every time she came to interview me, I’d crack a joke, and they worked 90% of the time. As the days progressed, I decided to switch it up a bit. 

“Hey, doll; you know, I never noticed it before, but your glasses look so cute on you. They really compliment your eyes.” I stated casually, and I was suddenly filled with giddiness at her reaction. Her pale cheeks flushed a pretty pink, her almond-shaped emerald eyes wide with surprise, and she pushed a few strands of dark brown hair behind her ear out of habit. “U-uhm… thank you, 035.” I shrugged, hiding my giddiness easily; I was an exceptional actor after all. However, it was at that point that I knew exactly how to manipulate her. She was like most women; loved compliments, likes guys that can make em’ laugh, but most importantly, gets jealous really fast, probably over nothing; excellent.

As the weeks progressed, I kept complimenting her, making her laugh, and after a month and a half of this, to my utter delight, I saw definite signs of a crush forming. This would be very interesting; it had been too long since I had good entertainment, a long-term project of mine. Manipulation is the craftiest, and arguably the most important skill one can possess in this day and age. 

Another month later, she walked in, sat down, and grinned at me in that disgusting, love-sick manner. “Good morning 035. Did you sleep well?” I sighed, putting on a frown and placing my hand in my chin. “Firstly, I don’t sleep. Secondly, if I did, I’m pretty sure my nights would be restless. You know… thinking of you and all.” Her eyes instantly lit up, and she went to speak before I cut her off. “Although, thinking of you is nice, but there is this one person that simply won’t leave my mind no matter how hard I try!” I exclaim in exasperation. Her smile fell, and her eyebrows knit together in disappointment; but it was the anger in her eyes that sealed the deal. Gotcha, bitch.

“You see, it’s been weeks since I’ve seen my dear Y/N. I want to see her oh-so badly… but no. They bring you in here instead. Putting you in front of me like a replacement; I’ve lost my dear pet Y/N, and here comes the stray off the streets to make it all better.” I sneered, my grin stretching wider at the way her bottom lip quivered and her eyes glossed with tears.

“I-I… I’m better than her though! W-why would you say such things, 035?” She whimpered, and I chuckled darkly in amusement. “You think you’re better than her? You think you have what it takes to make me happy?” She slammed her hands on the table, leaning forward, her eyes searching my face frantically. “I can make you happy! Happier than she ever could!” “You think you can just waltz in here, like the pathetic little bitch you are, and claim to be better than Y/N?” I continued to interrupt her as she shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks; this was the best part.

“Do you think,” my voice slowly rose as my eyes glared imaginary holes through hers. “That you’re even worth my precious time? That you’re worth anyone’s time?!” I screamed, slamming my fists on the table. She stood suddenly, fists clenched in rage and teeth bared. “I am worth it! I can prove it!” She screeched. 

“Then fucking prove it!!” I screeched back. She leapt at me, and in an instant I was out of my chair and on the floor a few feet away, with her on top of me. The impact surely broke my host’s spine, or at the very least split his head open, and I laughed maniacally at the pain, amused that she would go to such lengths to have me. 

She grabbed the collar of my orange jumper, shaking me violently; good lord, this girl had muscles! “You fucking piece of shit! I will have you, I will have you, you will be mine! I’ll fucking kill her if I have to!!” That only made me laugh harder, and she growled like an animal, slamming my head into the concrete floor below; every time my host’s head hit the floor it was accompanied by a squelching noise as the broken cranium was met with a giant pool of hot, crimson blood that only got bigger by the second. “Why can’t you see I love you, dammit! Stop laughing at me..! Stop laughing or I’ll fucking make you!”

The sound of the door opening and heavy footsteps filled my ringing ears, and her weight left me all at once. “N-no! Let me go! I love him, I fucking love him, you can’t take me away from him!!” She thrashed and screeched like a wild animal, her arms held by two beefy looking guards as they hauled her away from me. All the while, I couldn’t stop myself from howling with laughter. Even though I had numbed the pain my host gave me, I could feel that he was bleeding out, and the life was fading from him quickly. Losing a host was not a problem, when the foundation provided them every time I went out of my cell; and besides, losing a host that had a few hours left in him was quite worth it for such thrilling entertainment!


	6. Well Played Asshole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'M FINALLY BACK!!! Guys I'm so sorry I left for so long T^T hopefully people are still interested in my work, how long has it even been?? This chapter was almost 3,000 words, so hopefully this makes up for my absence. I'll be updating once a week until I get more ideas for the story going, so feel free to spam me if I don't update every Monday, cuz honestly, ya girl is mad forgetful. Sorry that it's formatted weird with no spacing, I used Google Docs instead of Word this time, don't know if that makes a difference.

Last week had been hectic to say the least. There was the whole “Dr. Gears is trying to screw you over” thing, which was going to be extremely difficult to tackle in and of itself… but on top of all that, you found out 035 wasn’t really who you thought he was. Sure, he made some really dumb jokes, he could be really annoying at times, but this…? You knew everyone had a dark side, but his was twisted, darkness folding in on itself until the person behind it was severely distorted, even unrecognizable. How he could do that to Dr. Yaro… as much as you disliked her, you honestly couldn’t blame her for hating you if 035 was involved. His powers of manipulation were strong and far beyond anyone’s comprehension. You sighed, placing your hands on your desk and letting your head fall back so you could stare at the ceiling, your hair falling behind you and gathering on the back of your office chair. You craned your neck further back, and your heart stopped at what lay before your eyes; or rather, hung.  
A jet black, yet rather small security camera nuzzled in the corner of your ceiling. No one would have really noticed it there, if they weren’t specifically looking for it; you were lucky to catch it. The red light on the corner of it was blinking slowly, a sign that it was on and definitely working; the thought of someone looking through it sent shivers up your spine.  
You pretended not to notice it, looking away quickly and sitting upright in your chair, scooting your desk in to work on your computer. Your fingers flew across the keyboard, but your mind was elsewhere; at this point it was second nature to simply type in reports while thinking of other things. How long had that camera been there, and why haven’t you noticed it before? Was it mandatory for every office to have one?  
Your thoughts were interrupted by a brisk knock at the door. Your heart raced as you stood to answer it, anxiety creeping to the forefront of your mind at who could be knocking this early in the morning. You prayed it was Dr. Hagreeves with some form of good news; you had yet to hear from her all week, and you avoided Keter labs for obvious reasons.  
When you reached the door and opened it, your heart dropped to the pit of your stomach as Dr. Gears’ stoic, emotionless face came into view. You nearly slammed the door in his face, ready to crawl under the desk and cry, but you put on the best fake smile you could muster. “Dr. Gears, what a surprise. What brings you here?” You were quite proud of yourself for not stuttering.  
He didn’t answer right away, instead taking a step closer and forcing you to step back so he could walk inside your office.  
“Actually, it’s more of a matter of what you’re willing to do for me.” He turned to face you, an eerie smile on his face. You had never seen him smile, not once, and for a moment you seriously considered sprinting out the open door. “Mind closing the door? It’s a private matter.” You hesitantly obliged, closing it, but there was no way in hell you were going to lock the two of you in here.  
He glanced around your office for a minute, and the longer he went without talking, the more anxious and fearful you felt. “What a quaint little office you have. The camera I installed looks almost out of place; but I suppose nothing can be done about that,” he turned to you and his smile widened, as well as your eyes.  
“Oh, don’t act surprised Y/N. It was very necessary. We must keep constant tabs on your activities, with you and 049 being so close… you two could be plotting his escape for all I know,” he chuckled; but it was empty and forced.  
“I-I, I think you should leave,” you began, and before you could fully open the door, his palm slammed it shut, his face mere inches from yours. You suppressed a scream, barely, and instead met his hollow gaze head on with what little courage you could muster.  
“I think not, dear doctor,” he practically spat your title as if it were a joke to him. He leaned in closer, you could feel his breath fanning against your cheek and you pressed yourself farther into the door; in reality, there was no escaping his intense gaze and horrific smile. “Not when we’ve barely begun. Not when I’m so close to discovering what makes your precious 049 tick. Aren’t you curious, even a little? Whether you like it or not, you’re going to help me… and who knows,” with his other hand, he pulled a strand of your (h/c) hair from the side of your face, letting it slip through his fingers. “Maybe I’ll prove to be an even greater distraction than him.”  
You woke with a start, arm jerking out from under your head and swiping a few papers off of your desk. You grimaced at the mind-splitting headache that was quickly forming, and slowly lifted your head, hair haphazardly sticking to your sweaty forehead. You glanced at the clock on the wall to your right, and sighed heavily when you realized it was 9 o’clock already. Today was an interview day with 049, and you felt like shit; you had drank past your limit last night, and were in no condition to see him. You supposed that might be the reason for such a bizarre dream.  
Still… you turned around and looked for that tiny camera you had seen in your dream. It wasn’t there, thankfully; but you couldn’t shake that eerie feeling creeping up your spine. It had all seemed so real…  
You stood up on shaky legs, using the desk to guide yourself to the door for fear that you would crumple into a pathetic heap on the ground if you didn’t. You gripped the doorframe once you reached the door, and opened it after putting in a bit of elbow grease. Rounding the corner, you immediately sought out a water dispenser that was usually in the hallway somewhere.  
“Water…” you murmured as you spotted one at the end of the hallway. You had to calculate each and every step you took, focusing all of your brain power and energy into getting to the much needed H2O. After about 3 minutes of slow trudging to the end of the hallway, you finally reached the dispenser, only to find Dr. Palo pouring himself a cup.  
“Move…” you said weakly, and he looked behind him, giving you a quizzical look. “That any way to talk to your friend?” You purse your lips as he turned to you fully; he was blocking the dispenser. “Give…” your shaky arm reached for the cup in his hand, and he only raised it higher out of your reach. You let out a pitiful whine and tried to plead with your eyes that you needed this water. You poured your heart and soul into this one gaze; “I need it” you said in your head, “I’m going to die without it. Do you want me to die? Your best friend Y/N?”  
“…You’ve been drinking,” he stated more than asked, and you nodded your head slowly. “Tell me why and I’ll give you this water.” You frowned; you could barely form proper sentences, and even if you could tell him, you wouldn’t. This was something strictly between you and Dr. Hagreeves, and anyone else knowing could jeopardize whatever plan she had.  
“…Head hurts. Give now, tell later.” He only sighed, shaking his head. “I have a lot of power over you right now, I hope you know that. But I’m also your friend, so I’ll do you a solid just this once,” he said, handing you the cup. You gulped it down greedily, the cool, tasteless liquid washing away the liquor from the night before. The relief wasn’t immediate, but you still felt much better than you did 4 minutes ago. “Thanks,” you said, moving to get another cup full, and he thankfully stepped away to allow you access. “Sure, just don’t forget to tell me what’s got you like this; I’ve never known you for a drinker.”  
By the time you got three more cups down, your headache was satiated; you’d probably still have to take a few acetaminophen later if you wanted it to stay that way. “Don’t worry, I won’t forget. It’s just… now’s not a good time.” He nodded in understanding; thankfully he wasn’t the type to pry. He checked his watch, making a small “hmph” at the time.  
“It’s almost time for your interview. You want me to walk you over there?” You hummed in agreement, forcing your legs to turn you around and walk towards 049’s cell as Palo walked next to you.  
Your head throbbed as the two of you reached the door to his observation room. Today it would just be Dr. Palo and Dr. Graham observing your interview with 049. You were thankful, yet uneasy, that Dr. Gears hasn’t approached you yet. Come to think of it, you haven’t seen him at all recently. You received your clipboard and pen from Graham, and took a deep breath before entering his cell.  
“Good morning Dr. L/N,” 049 beamed at you as you sat down in your usual spot across from him. Any other day you would’ve been delighted to see him, however, given the current circumstances, you were a little nervous to talk to him. Images of the week or two prior flashed in your mind; of you and 049 sharing laughs, sitting what would be considered “unprofessionally close” to one another on his makeshift bed… and then of you sitting on your desk, with his head in your lap, snoozing peacefully and relatively undisturbed. It made butterflies flutter and bounce off the walls of your stomach, and yet at the same time, tiny alarm bells ring in the recesses of your mind.  
Things had been going great with 049, there was no doubt about it. However, one could say things were going too great, too fast. The thought scared you a little; a few too many relationships in your past gone awry making you doubtful of how things would continue with 049 if you stayed on the steep incline that was your relationship. What was even scarier, was finding the right way to tell him that the two of you needed to slow down. If not for fear of it ending too quickly, then for the fear of how it would end; whether or not the foundation had a say in it.  
“Good morning 049,” you said weakly, giving him what you hoped looked like a convincing smile. Your conflicting thoughts had triggered your headache to come back almost full force, and you fought back a grimace as the fluorescent lights in the cell suddenly became a little too bright. He said nothing in return, only trailing his piercing eyes along your form and darting across your face in search of something. You chose to ignore his strange behavior (granted, your behavior was probably strange to him at the moment), and instead focused most of your limited energy towards organizing the questionnaire in front of you. You clicked your pen and were about to speak when he abruptly cut you off.  
“The human body is a complex and intricate machine… almost all humans function the same, minus those who have certain illnesses or afflictions that affect the body differently than those who do not suffer from said illness,” he stated. You tilted your head in question, furrowing your brows at this odd piece of information.  
“I’ve been a doctor for far longer than anyone here can comprehend or even begin to believe; I know the human body inside and out, like the back of my hand…” he trailed off to fold his hands neatly on the table and leaned forward, lowering his voice to a deep, almost sultry baritone.  
“That being said, darling, it’s safe to say I know what the reasonable limit for alcohol consumption is for the human body. I’ve treated many patients for alcohol poisoning; and I do believe someone has gone far beyond the recommended limit.”  
You gaped at him, a deer caught in the headlights of a big, frightening semi truck with a distracting British accent. Your mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, searching for a retort or something, anything that would save this interview; and by the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, you could tell he was reveling in making you flustered.  
“W-well… shit happens..?” You inwardly face palmed; out of all the comebacks in the world, that was the only one you could come up with? He only gave a deep, hearty chuckle, the sound like music to your slightly ringing and definitely red ears. “I suppose so, darling,” he leaned back, getting comfortable in his chair, and you took the moment to collect yourself. You tried to ignore the way his little nickname for you made a blush overtake your features, and the way it made your heart constrict almost painfully in your chest. You needed to focus; tackle the day at the very least one task at a time.  
“Well then, let’s start off the interview with some simple, personal questions. For example… how are you feeling today?” Truth be told, that was more of a question you yourself were asking him directly, rather than it being protocol. He sighed wistfully, the sound coming out through his mask like television static. “I feel as though I should be the one asking you that. To answer your question, much better than I did earlier on in the morning.” You tilted your head curiously; it was barely approaching 9:30, still relatively early in the morning. “And why is that? Did something bad happen this morning?”  
His eyes shifted briefly to the glass window behind you, where Dr. Palo and Dr. Graham were observing the interview (either that or throwing paper airplanes at each other, which you have in fact witnessed), and he seemed to stiffen a bit, a tell of his that you’ve come to recognize whenever he either got offended, or didn’t necessarily want to talk about something. Anxiety began to rise in your stomach, the hairs on the back of your neck and arms raising in alert with the next words 049 uttered.  
“I was visited by a special guest… it made for quite the unpleasant morning, as I don’t fancy being anywhere near the Pestilence.”

049’s Flashback: 8:00am:

I clenched my gloved fists, the leather squeaking with protest as I tried desperately to direct my racing thoughts back to the present. My vision was swimming in a sea of red, as the man in front of me continued his monotonous monologue. I could barely concentrate on anything he was saying, and my own inner voice drowned him out. “Pestilence,” it hissed. “He has the Pestilence… kill him.” Any other time I would have, to prevent such a devastating and horrendous disease from running rampant throughout the facility. But the imagined horror on Y/N’s face when the news would eventually get back to her kept my feet planted firmly in place. I couldn’t risk ruining my chances of reintegration.  
My train of thought halted when Gears took a step towards me, apparently trying to get my attention.  
“My apologies, doctor,” I practically spat. “I might have dozed off with all your rambling.”  
He simply chuckled, unnatural and forced coming from a man who is seemingly devoid of all emotions.  
“So it does have a sense of humor. Now I know why Dr. L/N is so smitten with you; she does love uniqueness.” He paused to adjust his spectacles and phish something out of his lab coat. His hand reappeared with a small round device, jet black in color, but with a dome like appearance.  
“What is that,” I said, more demanding than curious.  
“All you need to know, and all I’m going to tell you, is that you will continue to converse with Miss Y/N as you normally have. Pretend as if I wasn’t here,” he took a step, “pretend as if this conversation never happened,” another step, “and the next time Miss Y/N comes to your private chambers… I’d watch what you say.” He sticks the small device behind my pillow, just out of sight, before straightening. He’s so close that my beak is barely grazing the top of his forehead; cocky bastard knows I won’t kill him. Yet, at least. And with that, he leaves my chambers.


	7. Give Me A Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You spend some time reminiscing, and come to a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahaha, I said I was back, and then I left again :')) I cri. You guys have been absolutely BONKERS with the love and support I can't even T^T I don't deserve it. Everytime I open my email I see a comment, and those comments keep me going; thank you all so much for supporting me, for supporting my first fanfiction ever, I can't believe it blew up like this O.O I love you all, stay safe, enjoy the (filler) chapter, and wash yo hands >:3 lmao

You sighed heavily as you clocked out for the day, lazily swiping your key card against the pad for the thick metal doors that led to the outside world. A gust of cold wind smacked you in the face as soon as you stepped over the threshold, boots crunching under dead leaves and branches. An intense shiver wracked your body as you continued forward, and you pulled the zipper of your black sherpa jacket up until it reached just below your nose; you weren’t a big fan of the cold, having been raised in a southern state and only recently moving to Indiana four years ago for college. As you approached the parking lot to the Foundation, you spotted Dr. Hagreeves and Dr. Palo standing a few feet away at what you assumed was Dr. Hagreeves’ car, judging by how sleek and new it appeared. She seemed like the kind of woman to own a Mercedes.

“Y/N! Come join us, don’t be a stranger,” Dr. Palo half-shouted to get your attention, already phishing a cigarette out of his coat pocket. Hagreeves smiled warmly at you as you approached, and you smiled back meekly; in all honesty, you just wanted to get back to your apartment and finish binge watching the last anime you saw and drown your sorrows in instant ramen. However, you couldn’t deny the warmth that crept into your stomach at the thought of hanging out with people who actually considered you a friend and vice versa.

“This weather’s killin me,” You said, rubbing your gloved hands together dramatically. Palo gave a hearty chuckle, before lighting up his cigarette and handing you one. 

“Living down in sweet home Alabama your whole life, it prolly doesn’t get as cold as it does here. You’re warm blooded L/N, through and through,” he took a drag and blew the smoke out away from us. 

“Heh, that’s true,” you stuck the cigarette in your mouth, taking Palo’s lighter when he offered it and lighting the end up. You took a long drag, exhaling slowly as the almost instantaneous nicotine buzz relaxed your entire body. You weren’t a heavy smoker, you really only did it socially and the same went for drinking. Hagreeves wrinkled her nose slightly at Palo and you, to which Palo stuck out his tongue and took another drag. 

“What a week…” you mused out loud. “This is probably the first break I’ve gotten in at least a week or two.”

“Same here,” Hagreeves piped up, swaying back and forth to warm herself up a bit. “Not to bring down the mood by mentioning work, but I think you’ll be happy to hear this Y/N.” You perked up at that, raising your eyebrow in question.

“035 has been accepted into the integration program. Well, more like has been approved to qualify, if that makes sense. The higher ups are still very skeptical, for obvious reasons, but they’re seriously considering it.” 

“...Ah,” you said unenthusiastically, flashbacks of your last visit with him racing through your mind. Hagreeves looked at you questioningly, and you simply shook your head. “I’m happy  for him, I really am, it’s just… he’s not the person I thought he was? I guess what I mean is that I still consider him a friend, it’d just be better to be his friend from a distance for now.”

“Well, that’s understandable, albeit really bad timing. The board wants you to guide him through the reintegration process; you’re the one closest to him, after all.” 

“Ughhhh,” you tilted your head back and massaged the space between your brows as a headache began to form. “I’ve already got 049 on my plate, why are they trying to bombard me with more paperwork?” You sighed heavily, taking another drag to calm yourself before speaking up again. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ll do it, but only cause they probably have no one else to do it.” Hagreeves put a hand on your shoulder encouragingly, squeezing slightly to drive her point home.

“I admire your dedication Y/N; you know you do have the right to say no, but trust me, you’re helping the Keter department out greatly by choosing to do this.” You smiled a bit at that; helping people has always been something that makes life a bit better for you. 

“Well, I should probably go guys. Someone has to feed my cat after all,” you half-joked; you felt a little bad for not spending much time with your perisan cat Bella. Dr. Palo nodded, waving goodbye along with Hagreeves, and with that, you got in your car and drove the 45 minute drive into the city. 

  
  


When you got back to your apartment, you locked the door and set your bag down on the island in the kitchen. Your apartment wasn’t much; it had a decent sized kitchen when you first walked in, a living area to the right of it with a large black couch, coffee table, and a reasonably sized flatscreen tv. The arched doorway in between the kitchen and living room opened to a hallway, and on opposite ends of the hallway was your bedroom and the guest bedroom.

You were eternally grateful to the foundation, for a lot of reasons, but mainly because they were the ones who scored you such a nice apartment because it was fairly close to the facility. Despite the seemingly endless piles of paperwork that magically appeared on your desk everyday and the general stress of dealing with all of it, the foundation genuinely cared for their staff. They were always ready to accommodate the employees' needs; they understood how dangerous this job was. You distinctly remember your first day working for the foundation officially; there was a massive containment breach, and you had barely made it to the designated holding area with the help of 035.

Your breath came out in shaky gasps as you looked around wildly, tears pricking the corners of your eyes. The red blaring lights and the dimness of the hallway you were in were disorienting you greatly; you had taken a few wrong turns, and weren’t sure where you were exactly, since the majority of the staff were probably at their designated areas already. A monstrous screech sounded behind you, and when you turned to look, the red emergency lights outlined the shadow of a giant reptile, its maw open and revealing rows of dangerously sharp fangs. You slowly backed up, looking around wildly for some sort of escape, as it hadn’t seemed to notice you yet. You were so focused on the monstrous looking SCP that you failed to notice the other SCP lurking in a doorway a few steps behind you.

A hand shot out from around the corner behind you, grabbing onto the back of your lab coat and swiftly pulling you into the shadows, a hand clasping around your mouth to muffle your shrill scream of surprise. You were pulled against a solid frame, hand still clasped over your mouth as you thrashed in your captor’s arms, completely forgetting about the immediate threat outside until it made its presence known once again. A low, guttural growl resounded from outside the room and you stilled immediately, white hot immobilizing fear coursing through your veins. Your mind raced with thoughts of the inevitable; out of all the ways to go, this was not how you imagined it would be. Slowly, the hand over your mouth was removed, the arm wrapped around your middle that kept you from thrashing was lowered to the person’s side. Your frenzied mind caught up with you enough to realize that 682 had finally left, and you quickly took a step or two forward to put distance between you and the stranger that had saved you.

When you turned around and looked up, your mouth fell open in shock, eyes widening to the size of saucers. From 035’s perspective, it was quite the comical expression. You took in the white porcelain mask, smiling eerily down at you with gaping black holes for eyes and white dots for pupils that were trained on you.

“Uhhh, earth to Y/N? A ‘thank you’ would be very appropriate right about now, just saying.” 035 jutted his hip out and placed his hand upon it, gesturing to you wildly with his free hand. “I mean, if I hadn’t scooped you up in time, I’m sure you would’ve made a fine meal for ol’ 682,” he laughed at his own joke, to which you raised a brow and scoffed.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you calling me fat or something?” You crossed your arms and jutted your own hip out, albeit a bit awkwardly.

“Honey, it’s called a compliment, so save the sass,” he rolled his eyes (the equivalent of white dots moving in a clockwise motion, which creeped you out a little), and turned to leave, looking over his shoulder at you. “Are you comin’ or not?” he questioned in a mordant tone, and you blinked rapidly, shaking your head; the two of you had almost gotten devoured by a giant reptile, and you were certain the two of you weren’t in the clear just yet. He tutted, turning back around to offer you his hand. “Look, I’m not gonna leave you in here alone, and we can’t stay here either; it’s not secure like the bunker is. You just gotta trust me that I won’t get us both eaten.” 

You gave him a once over, and sighed heavily. He was right, and what other choice did you have than to put your life in the borrowed hands of a porcelain theatre mask with crazy manipulation powers. Powers that you were mysteriously immune to… and with that knowledge, you realized that he was being genuine; he was, in a sense, being forced to be candid with you, based solely on the fact that his powers didn’t work on you. You took his hand, silencing the tiny voice that screamed at you not to trust him. “Let’s get out of here then,” you said, steeling your resolve and giving his hand a firm squeeze. His gaze lingered on you for a moment; long enough to take in how beautiful you looked when you were confident, but not long enough for you to notice his lingering gaze. With that, the two of you set off to locate the bunker, 035 expertly navigating the foreign hallways of the facility, stopping every so often to peek behind a corner and make sure the coast was clear.

The two of you didn’t talk (for obvious reasons), but there was a sense of comradery between the two of you, and although you hadn’t known him for long, you felt safe in his presence. Finally, after what seemed like years of walking briskly to and fro (but in reality was about 10 minutes), the two of you came upon a large metal door with a glowing red keypad next to it. You fumbled a bit to get your keycard, but before pressing it against the pad, you faced 035 with a small smile. “Thanks… for saving me and getting us here in one piece.”

“Better late than never I suppose… you’re welcome,” he said awkwardly. You pressed the keycard to the pad, and it flashed green with a small ‘beep.’ Once the door slid open, all eyes turned to you and 035; there had to have been at least 20 people in the room. It was spacious, lined with thick concrete, the corners reinforced with steel as well as the spaces between the ceiling and the walls. The room had no decor, no furniture, aside from several computers lined against the back wall placed upon standing desks; they looked old and barely functional. “H-hey guys… sorry I’m late,” you smiled meekly, and 035 giggled by your side before the two of you walked in and closed the door behind you. Needless to say, the next hour or two were extremely, supremely, awkward.

  
  


You blinked, snapping back to reality ( ~~oop there goes gravity~~ ) and you realized you had just been staring off into space on your couch, reliving the memory you shared with 035. 035… he was a sadistic, eldritch being or whatever, but he wasn’t a complete sociopath. Or at least that’s what you wanted to believe. You battled yourself in your mind; the empathetic voice telling you to give him another chance to prove he wanted to change, while the cynical side of yourself argued that he had been like this for longer than you could even imagine, and it was impossible for him to see things differently. At the end of the day though, both sides were right; he wouldn’t be able to change overnight, after all, old habits die hard. However, you had seen glimpses of change in him; he can be a good person, and you were very hopeful to see how much progress you can make with him in the future. When the weekend comes to an end, and you go into work on Monday, you were determined to tackle this assignment with vigor; you would prove that cynical little voice in your head wrong, one way or another.


End file.
